Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Scientists crack genetic secrets of human egg
Michigan State University News: East Lansing - The human egg's ability to transform into a new life, or into new cells that may someday save lives, is well documented. The mystery lies in the mechanics - in how a single cell can transform so nimbly.
Scientists at Michigan State University report this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that they have identified genes unique to the human egg. The identification opens the way to understanding these genes' functions, which may lead to solving problems from infertility to degenerative diseases.
"What's in the egg to have that power?" asked Jose Cibelli, MSU professor of physiology and animal science. "Some of those genes are responsible for the magic trick that the egg has. This paper takes a peek at what genes are in the egg waiting to make these changes."
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Based on the PNAS paper "The transcriptome of human oocytes" (Abstract)
technorati tags: Michigan, State, University, News, East+Lansing, human, egg, life, cells, mystery, mechanics, cell, proceedings, national, academy, sciences, genes, infertility, degenerative, diseases, egg, msu, physiology, animal, science, pnas
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